Mr. Matt Buttery:

I thank Deputy Cairns for her questions. She asked for us to give a practical insight into the programme. Obviously the programmes have multiple delivery formats, starting with very light-touch, one-to-one interventions. The most common group programme we deliver is a nine-week programme. In fact, three weeks are telephone calls so it is really a six-week group programme. Through telephone calls, parents apply and start to implement the strategies that they have set. The programme is family-centred and parents set their own goals, which is very much in the same vein as what is done by Parents Plus.

The key principle of Triple P is self-regulation. We promote parental self-regulation. We give parents skills and support them to develop their self-management skills and self-efficacy. We help them understand their own personal agency to overcome challenges, which perhaps they have seen in the past, having tried to this a thousand times but nothing has worked. We help parents to acknowledge that, and sympathise with them, but we show some strategies that other people have tried and ask if they would like to have a go at one of those strategies. It is about helping parents to problem-solve so that we create self-efficient parents. That is self-regulation.

In summary, self-regulation never really answers a parent when he or she asks what he or she can do about something. Many parents ask that question but really they are asking for somebody to listen to them and give them reflective space. Usually a good Triple P practitioner will tell a parent they have asked a really interesting question, outline what they believe they have heard the parent say and ask if that is correct. They may then say: "Gosh, I get it, you are worried about this or that but what do you think and which of the strategies looked at in the course would you like to have a go at?" That approach empowers parents, gives them choices, ensures they set goals and manage their own plan. They are involved in the assessment. When one does some level of assessment at the start of group Triple P or any Triple P programme one involves the parents. Obviously they fill out the questionnaires but a practitioner feeds back the results to them at the beginning and end so they can see the journey they have gone on. Parents come up with a parenting plan based on their understanding of their child's interaction in the family environment and they have that individual assessment and support.

Triple P introduces a range of strategies across the seven core principles of Triple T, namely, ensure a safe and interesting environment for children; provide a positive learning environment; use assertive discipline; have realistic expectations of ourselves and our children; adapt to having a child with additional needs; be part of a community; and take care of ourselves as parents. We take parents through a range of strategies in a predefined order. The first is thinking about developing a good relationship with one's child, which is the bridge over which everything else goes. Sometimes parents come to parenting programmes and say their child does this and they need a strategy and they ask what they should do. We will do a self-reflective piece but the key is that if parents do not have a positive relationship with their child or the relationship has broken down for various reasons, there is no bridge to go across when it comes to managing misbehaving. Often, misbehaviour stems from the child seeking attention and perhaps the child has learned, in a dysfunctional manner, that if he or she is quiet and plays nicely, he or she does not get any attention but if he or she starts to kick off, his or her mum or dad gives all the attention the child wants. As practitioners, we talk about these situations being parenting traps but we can all fall into them. There is no judgment. Ms Gannon gave the example of a parent giving a child a chocolate bar to be quiet instead of saying, "Well done, you have been amazing; here is your chocolate bar." The child still gets a chocolate bar but we can see the difference in terms of the behaviour that approach encourages.

We try to open parents' minds of parents to what they can do and give them practical things they can apply from week one to see changes. Next, we talk about how to encourage desirable behaviour and praise children for doing the right things. If children are playing nicely, we tell parents they should not to leave them alone but get involved by giving words of praise and telling their children what they love about the play. We assure parents that their children will learn from them that this is the way they will get their needs met and receive praise. We then teach new skills and behaviours, explain practical ways that parents can help their children to develop and show them how to manage when children misbehave. We try to help parents to think about putting a plan together and about antecedents when it comes to managing misbehaviour. We encourage the to analyse what happened before the misbehaviour, see whether there is something they can change about the environment and suggest solutions. Perhaps parents can move an item that has been knocked down or thrown on the floor to a higher spot. That is a simple way to change the environment so that the behaviour does not become an issue.

After those first five sessions of Triple P, the parent will have a plan and we provide three telephone calls to provide support. There can be drop-ins to support the parent put the plan into practice. Finally, there is a night session, which is a wrap-up celebration where we really think about maintenance and how parents can go on from there.

The previous speakers shared their experiences very powerfully. One of the most powerful things is to connect with parents who have been through a similar journey. Have I given the Deputy an insight into our programme?